Troubling Heaven

[TheCheat1]

((Ack! You broke the rule!? ))

Mel's hands lit up with bright orange flames as he rushed out into the now-dismayed group of soldiers. "Time for a little pot-roast!" the little Forseer shouted as he put his palms out, facing the soldiers. First the flames just puffed up, licking more oxygen, but in seconds the flames grew twice as large and began spouting dozens of other flames in the room, each shooting out at a different soldier. The soldiers screamed in agony as their bodies lit on fire, but before long their charred, lifeless bodies fell to the floor, motionless. Mel's fiery hands extinguished, and he walked over to Tek and Querrot. "Finished," he said, panting heavily.

Suddenly, an alarm sounded and the sound of men shouting echoed through the chamber. "Um... I think we need to get your buddies and go now, Mr. Tek."

***

Ethian stared in disbelief at the sky in the direction of the army's horn as Phera began cutting up Wotovik again. "Eltii, help me out here!" she moaned as the group of furry monsters descended upon her. There's nothing left to stop them... Ethian thought. And if we don't stop them, they'll get to-- The Princess entered into Ethian's mind for the first time in weeks. If he did nothing, the Princess would die! "Sorry guys, gotta' run!" Ethian blasted past the Wotovik and turned back around to the direction of the horn, grabbing Phera in the process. Without another word, he took off at lightspeed in the direction of the retreating army.

***

"My... ugh. I'm Joshua. Joshua, First Degree Reexan Platform, 228483." Joshua shakily stood and looked at his surroundings. Midday, suns are in the same place as when I landed. I've not been out more than an hour. "Uh... Iban, you said. Who are you with? Are you a Bruthalian?"

 

[NavyGuy7]

"Tek! In here!"
Tek rushed to one of the cell doors, and began work on the system that kept the door sealed. It was the same as any other lock Bruthalians used for their prisoners, so Tek just ran a program and the door popped open.
"Now we're even," Tek muttered, anything except a smile on his face. His jaw was clenched, and his white eyebrows were furrowed.
Lance nodded. Then he began walking down the corridor to the guard station.
"Wait, where are ya going?"
"To get my stuff. And.... Jerrick, you should come with me. We need to get your helmet."
Tek gasped, and looked at the other occupant of the cell.
"That's Jerrick? You look so... different without your helmet and all the advanced technology...."
Tek shook his head, the surprise wearing off.
"We'll come with you Lance. You'll need help getting your dogfighter, and I need another way to get to my ship. I'll have to use my untested program, but it's the only way."
Lance nodded, refusing to speak now unless needed. He beckoned as he turned into the station.
It didn't take long to find his rifle and other equipment, as it was in a temporary storage bin. He then tried to use the nearby terminal.
Tek saw he was getting nowhere, so he hacked it remotely.
"I assume you're looking for Jerrick's helmet? It's on a lower level, near your dogfighter. It's in the "Reverse-Engineering" department right now."
Tek hesitated, then gave Jerrick Mark I.
"Think of it as a loan, until you have your stuff back," he explained. "And no funny business! It won't work if you try to use it on me. Don't think I've forgotten about our little encounter from before."

 

[Brilliand]

Jerrick stood up and walked over to the door, then hesitated. He had been locked up for three years... it was difficult to imagine freedom. He looked back at the familiar cell, covered in incantations and schematics that he had drawn with his own hands. But something else drew him out into the corridor: the magic out there worked. Jerrick had gotten an occasional flash, but nothing meaningful. Now the door had opened to a place where lightning pursued men across giant tunnels. He couldn't pass up the opportunity.

Jerrick gulped and stepped across the threshold. He slowly accepted Tek's gun, then said, "I have to get back to my dad. He'll know what to do."

Querrot caught up with Tek and stared at Jerrick awkwardly, then looked inside the cell. Somehow, he didn't think the art was Bruthalian work. Some of the concepts looked primitive, but others were interesting.

***

"Hollowstar Android Iban, Worldbreaker. I am with you. Bad data; question ignored."

 

[TheCheat1]

Mel skipped after Jerrick. "Where's your dad at?" he said, trying to make a new friend.

***

Joshua thought for a moment. "Hollowstar... you're from Hollowstar..." He's with with Bruthalians, then. Joshua glanced back at the pod. There were weak weapons on board, and he still had his stun-gun. But, he was handcuffed, and this made him more defenseless than usual. "What are your intentions?" he asked.

***

"Stay here," Ethian said as he sat Phera down in the woods near the battle. "Eltii, I'm comi--" before she could finish, he was gone.

Ethian skidded to a stop between the two armies and brought his sword up in front of his chest. Bringing his mirror shield from his back to his left hand in the blink of an eye, Ethian let out a yell and a blast of energy at one of the Bruthalian troopers. The royal army stopped moving, as did the Empire's. The royal army turned back to the battle (no longer retreating) and watched as a familiar young mercenary began disintegrating Empirial troops with a point of his sword.

Phera gritted her teeth. She wasn't too far from the battle, and she wasn't staying put. You don't tell me what to do, Eltii! she thought as she rushed forward, putting her plasma blade away and pulling out two energy-powered pistols. In a few moments she was near enough to the battle to fire a few lasers into the various squads of Bruthalians hiding behind cover.

Quickly joining Ethian, the army of Alik rushed back into battle. Mages threw fire and ice and wind, and arrows descended upon the Empirial troopers. Ethian grinned, his cocky self regaining its stasis as dominant personality. He laughed as lasers and plasma bolts bounced and rippled off of his Mirror Shield, back at the enemy.

Phera aimed her left pistol to fire again when suddenly she felt an arm wrap around her neck, and another around her waist. The force of the arm squeezing around her neck made her lose concentration and accidentally drop her guns. Within seconds, the world began to go dark, and then she felt her captor dragging her. With horror, she saw that it was moving her towards the battle.

Ethian gasped as he saw a Wotovik strangling Phera, carrying her to the Bruthalians. Furiously, he blasted energy at the Wotovik, remembering too late that he might accidentally hit Phera.

Phera screamed as one of Ethian's blasts seared her side. The blast had also torn the Wotovik in half, and so she fell to the dirt. Ethian wanted to explode at that moment, but he rushed forward at lightspeed, quickly grabbing Phera and running into the woods with her. Sitting her down, he put his hand on her side gently. "Are you alright?! I'm so sorry... I didn't mean--" Ethian stared in shock as Phera's body flashed from a Loo to a Kelosian. What the heck?! She isn't a Loo!

 

[NavyGuy7]

"..."
Lance had been about to say something. But... that would make his last mission bittersweet if it were true. He had been the guy who had pulled the plug on Hollowstar, in the end.
Lance had destroyed a world.
Tek saw the subtlest change in his expression, before it had returned to calm.
"What is it, Lance? What did you do?"
Lance shook his head, and again after Tek had repeated his question.
"Fine. Be that way, as usual. Might as well focus on what's happening right now, anyway."
Tek plotted a course to the nearest Grav Lift, as well as downloaded a map of the entire complex. It would save time.
"Crud!"
Tek whirled around, Mark II ready.
"What? What is it Lance?!"
"Navi.... she's been hacked! They managed not to get most of my files.... but....."
Lance's face had turned white.
"How could I have been so careless? I should've deleted that as soon as I was off Hollowstar!"
"Deleted what, Lance?!? You're not making sense!"
Lance looked at Tek, his face grave. Tek wasn't going to like the news.
***************
Ein ended the transmission, pleased. It seemed he wouldn't need Iban after all.
"Now, if only we had a way to make them..."
Ein closed out the window on his holo-display.

They were blueprints for the making of the Hollowstar android, Iban.

 

[Brilliand]

Jerrick ignored the insane conversation. He had never been very good at sorting things out, and after three years of solitude it would be impossible. As he went looking for his helmet, Jerrick talked with Mel, who was fortunately saying only one thing at a time.

"My dad is on Hollowstar. He's the king there. I have to get back."

***

Querrot began preparing a spell based partially on Jerrick's research. His left hand, which in the past had been colored in simple designs, now began to glow with symbols that a skilled mage could read. But it was no use. Though Jerrick had proven the existence of rune magic, he hadn't developed anything practical. Querrot would have to research further.

***

Iban stared at Joshua for a few seconds, then recited the ancient Hollowstar challenege to battle. "Alageno Teledan Ishitil Anana Iban Rel." He then waited for Joshua to accept or refuse his challenge.

 

[TheCheat1]

Shimeran howled in anger at Aden's response, the flames keeping him in the sky. The monstrous Warped desired to rip into the man's flesh and tear him apart, piece by piece.

Litra, although annoyed, was also amazed at the power Aden possessed. She had never met anyone who could control fire so well, not even on Poinesta.

Sierra dove down as the flames crept over her, the heat burning the skin on her wrist slightly. She watched as the skin slowly took form again, healing itself. Wretched mage...

The Bruthalians stopped fighting, which the other fighters who were with Sierra and Shimeran took advantage of. Litra now knew who the enemy was, and began attacking the Bruthalians with shards of stone. At that moment, she remembered one of Mel's memories of Aragithia that she had spied on while he was asleep. He knew the furry beast and the woman!

***

"A king! Wow!" Mel said, jumping up and down. "That's so cool!" Mel stopped for a second, then started walking again. "Mr. Querrot," he said, "Do you have any family back on Poinesta?"

***

Ethian stared in confusion at Phera's new shape. The girl moaned as she opened her eyes. "What? It can't be that bad, I mean, it's just a bur--" Phera sat up and stared at her side. There was silence.

***

"Fight you?" Joshua scoffed. "Do I look in any condition to fight? You'd easily best me. Come now, be a man and get me out of these cuffs before we do anything." Joshua turned his back to Iban and offered him his cuffed hands. What had he to lose? He had already stated his intentions, and so Iban would either simply strike him down or let him free, then strike him down. But at least he would have a better chance of fighting with free hands.

 

[Ninjitsu14]

((((I still don't know what I should do....Where should I be?)))

 

[Brilliand]

((Are you still with us? If you want to stick around, Miranda will have to strike out on her own and wander to where someone is - perhaps she could meet Iban and Joshua after a few hours of walking. After your outburst of a week ago, I'm pretty sure you should stay away, but it's up to you.))

 

[TheCheat1]

((Ninj! I have an awesome idea! Miranda can meet up with Joshua and Iban after a few hours of walking! That would be good, though, because Joshua's screwed against Iban... although, Miranda might not do too well. But she'd do better than Joshua.

Or, you could have Miranda meet up with Ethian and Phera. Mel, Tek, and Querrot are all in a facility right now, so they're unavailable, really, until they get out. ))

 

[NavyGuy7]

"WHAT?!? YOU LET THE BLUEPRINTS FOR AN ALL-POWERFUL ANDROID NAMED IBAN TO FALL INTO BRUTHALIAN HANDS?!?!?!"
Tek wasn't just angry. He was furious to the point where he pointed his gun right at Lance's head.
"Give me a reason why I shouldn't just kill you here!"
Lance stood there, silent, his face even whiter. He had forgotten how much Tek had grown from that fourteen year old boy he had known, to this sixteen year old prodigy.
Tek realized what he was doing, and looked away, shamed. He put away Mark II for the moment.
"There's.... there's something else. Hollowstar...... is gone."
Lance braced for the ire of Jerrick.

 

[Brilliand]

Aden was pleased to see one side stop fighting, so he hurled a few warning flames at the other side (excluding Litra) and shouted "Stop the battle! I want to sort this out." The horizontal wall of flames died down and stopped, but Aden kept an eye on Shimeran and Sierra.

***

Iban. The word stirred Jerrick's memory, and he looked back at Lance and Tek to hear what they were saying. He didn't understand most of it, but before he gave up, he hear te words "Hollowstar is gone." Shocked, Jerrick shouted, "Iban destroyed Hollowstar?"

Querrot looked at Jerrick in surprise, then looked at Mel and answered his question. "My parents were killed by orcs years ago. I don't know where my brother is."

***

Iban looked down at the handcuffs. He didn't recognize them, and at any other time he would have assumed that they were a secret weapon. But if Joshua wanted to get rid of them, he didn't mind. Iban reached down and absorbed the handcuffs, expending the energy with a powerful blast out of each shoulder. The blasts shot across the horizon and into outer space. He then waited for Joshua to state his own intentions.

 

[TheCheat1]

Most of the fighters dodged the oncoming flames, but one of the warrior's feet caught on fire, and he jumped around in circles, blowing on his foot to make it go out. Both sides stopped fighting, and Shimeran landed next to Sierra with a quiet grumble. Sierra looked at her husband, smiling, and put her small, seemingly-delicate hand in his giant, fur-covered one. Instantly Shimeran reverted to his human form, which was not anywhere near as chilling as when he was in his Warped shape.

***

Mel frowned at Querrot's response, seemingly ignoring the news about Hollowstar being destroyed. "Gee, I'm sorry Mr. Querrot..." he whispered. Then, his ears twitched and stood straight up. "Wait, did you say Iban, Mr. Jerrick? E talked about Iban. He said... um... he said that Iban blew up Aragithia. And that he killed Iban. And stuff." Mel's faced shaped into a cheesy grin. "I forget."

***

Joshua turned to face Iban again, rubbing his wrist. "You're one of the Hollowstar androids. I could tell from the way you absorbed those cuffs and then expelled the energy. There's nothing else out there like your kind," he said, frowning. Joshua knew from prior experience with the Hollowstar androids that he would be killed before he could react. "I do not wish to fight you. You are Iban, you said?" That's where I recognize the name from... Hollowstar android Iban. "You are not allied with Hollowstar anymore, then. Will you help me?"

***

Ethian blinked in disbelief, but he still saw Phera's new form. Slowly letting go of her, he stood and stared at her. She looked up at him and they locked eyes. "Eltii, I can explain this." Ethian took two steps backward, still staring. "You're not a Loo. I knew you weren't." Phera stood with a grunt of the realization of pain. "Please, if you'll just give me a--" Energy exploded from Ethian's feet, searing grass and silencing Phera. "You-- you just stop talking, alright? I don't even know who you are. Why did I even come with you? Just stop talking. Stop." Phera opened her mouth to speak but more energy expelled from Ethian's feet. "I'm leaving," he muttered. As he turned to go, he felt Phera's hand on his shoulder. "Please, please, just let me explain." Ethian stood silently for over a minute before responding, "I'll give you thirty seconds."

 

[Ninjitsu14]

((You want me to leave? It's not my problem you don't explain anything. I could be like.....

miranda rushed into the place where everyone was at and sliced them all up and said ha ha this is too easy

But, I'm not. I just want to understand what's going on. Fine. Don't get mad at me if this doesn't make any sense.....)))

Miranda emerged from the forest to see two people standing there.....On was a man, of similar stature to hers, so she assumed he was human. The other appered to be of a different race entirely.

She approached them catiously at first, as she struggled to remember the man's name. Eli? Emmett? Edward? No, none of those sounded right.

Ethian? Sure, she'd go with that.

"Ethian. Can you please tell me what's going on here? I got seperated from the others, and I got lost...." Miranda said.

 

[TheCheat1]

http://www.nuklearpower.com/((Almost perfect, Ninj. The other person that Miranda saw [Phera] is human now, too. ))

Ethian and Phera both swerved around to see Miranda. Phera reached down for her gun, but Ethian grabbed her wrist, stopping her. "She's a friend. Don't blast her." Ethian let go of Phera and walked over to Miranda. "We just got done fighting... she," Ethian motioned towards Phera, "She got hurt, so I had to get her out here." Phera rolled her eyes, and Ethian continued, "If you got lost, you should stay with us. I can't leave my comrades to die, though. There's a battle not going on too far from here. Think you're up for it?"

 

[Brilliand]

Aden let out a breath and stepped out of the crowd of torches. "First things first. What are you fighting over?"

***

Querrot lost interest in Mel and went back to thinking about magic.

Jerrick looked confused. "Iban killed Iban?"

***

"You're right." Iban paused thoughtfully. "I will come with you. I do not know whether I will help you."

 

[Ninjitsu14]

"Of course. The power of God is infinite--the Sutras never lose their power." Miranda said, grimacing slightly. The Sutras around her neck were a constant reminder that her master was dead. But, she would not let his death go in vain....She wanted revenge. That was all she had come here for.

She had done a lot of crying on the ship, as she travelled with Ethian and the others. She usually rejected her meals, in favor of crying over her master's life.

"No!!! I don't want any food, I don't want to live!! I just want to DIE!!!" she had shrieked to one of the servants that brought the food to her room, throwing a chair and a desk drawer at the servant in understandable anguish, although she now thought she may have hurt the poor maidservant.

During most days on the ship, she favored seclusion to talking to the other passengers on the ship, instead favoring to drown herself in the sheets on her bed and cry her eyes out until they were swollen and red. Her master had been the closest thing she had ever had to a father, and now he was gone. Taken away by one of the many weapons created by the sick minds of murderers named "scientists".

After some time of crying, she suddenly stopped--she still favored seclusion to being forced to talk to other people, but she didn't cry--not a single tear after she made her decision. She wanted revenge. And she would use her new Kuro Sutra, and her master's Shiro Sutra to do so. She would overwhelm her master's murderer with the power of God.

"Where will this battle take place?" she asked, in an even tone. She was ready to face death. It was not as if she had seen it before--her fellow monks and her master had all been killed effortlessly, and only she lived on. She thought it was unfair. So, everyday, she decided to face death head-on.

 

[NavyGuy7]

"No... Iban had died before his task was complete, Jerrick. Ethian didn't do it either. He was... protecting the one who destroyed Hollowstar."
Lance looked down at his feet, ignoring Tek's pistol, before he brought himself upright to look into Jerrick's eyes.
"I'm the one who destroyed Hollowstar. I'm... sorry. Before it was gone, however, I regenerated Iban, without the desire to destroy worlds. I thought he still had some good to accomplish. Also, I felt a little guilty since I accidentally had killed him with some sort of black spear. I'm... sorry. I was only following the orders of my superiors. A Hollowstar and Bruthalian alliance would have been able to conquer everyone with no resistance."
Tek put away the pistol, before looking to Jerrick. It wasn't everyday your homeworld was suddenly gone.

 

[Brilliand]

Jerrick began to sniffle. "Wh-what about my dad?"

 

[TheCheat1]

((Navy, I would've say "no resistance." The Tetnik species is just as technologically advanced as Hollowstar. There's just a lot less of 'em willing to fight. ))

Sierra rolled her eyes at Aden's question. "These scumbags are invading our home," she said, a dark, sinister tone creeping through. "They have no right to be here." Shimeran nodded silently. In human form, he was much shorter, and his dark green eyes contrasted greatly against his jet black hair. "We..." he began, but stopped. He looked at Litra, staring at her face. Litra walked slowly and nervously over to Aden. "This guy is staring at me... help me out here," she mindspoke. "We are trying to stop them from hurting us."

During all this, the rest of the fighters had silently subdued the rest of the Bruthalians, knocking most of them unconscious, but killing a few. "We are protecting our homeland!" one shouted. The rest gave an agreeing cheer. "We will not let them take our families!" Another cheer of agreement.

***

"It's only about a half mile from here." Ethian glared at Phera, who was still clutching her side. "Eltii--" "Shut up. I don't want to hear it. Miranda, you coming?" Ethian turned away from Phera purposefully, and the girl clenched her feet hand into a fist.

***

Mel stared in silence at Lance. "You... you blew up a whole planet...?" he murmured quietly. There was a moment of silence, and just as Jerrick asked about his dad, Mel screamed, "THAT IS SO AWESOME! WHAT WAS IT LIKE!? HOW DID YOU DO IT?!" The Forseer bounced up and down excitedly, and then realized that Jerrick's dad had been on Hollowstar when it blew up. The Forseer stopped moving and covered his mouth with his hand. Stupid idiot! Stupid, stupid idiot!

***

Joshua smiled. I expected that much. "Can you take me to the palace in Alik?" he asked. He may as well try to get there as fast as possible, and he knew that the Hollowstar android Iban could move at great speeds.

***

Vangel sat at a bar, waiting for his drink, when he spotted the man he was waiting for. The man was dressed plainly in order to blend, and as he sat down next to him he smiled. "How have you been, m'boy?" Vangel laughed. "You want a real answer or some of the usual 'fine, you?'" The man chuckled. "Things are coming together, you know." Vangel nodded and replied, "I can't help but wonder, however, what we're going to do afterwards." The man grinned wide. "That, my friend, is for me to know, and you to wait for. Tut-tut."